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1343342

registered interest
date	02/07/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 5143, what evidence demonstrates that the arrests made have included high-level actors in the trafficking of controlled drugs; and how many of those arrested or charged in relation to Operation VENETIC have been convicted.
tabling member constituency	Reigate
tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
uin	26080
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2021 answer text <p>The NCA reports that data derived from Operation VENETIC has, to date, led to over 2,300 people being arrested, over 1000 charged and 162 individuals convicted of a range of serious offences. These include well publicised cases of individuals involved in drug trafficking, like Thomas Maher, described by the judge at his trial as “an extremely important cog in the wheel of a sophisticated network”. A large number of cases linked to Operation VENETIC are progressing through the criminal justice system and it would be inappropriate to comment further on these at this time. The NCA regularly publishes the outcomes of investigations via press notices on its website.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 07/07/2021 15:23:38 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1332260

registered interest
date	11/06/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2021 to Question 8525 which noted that the cost of Operation Venetic is unknown, and to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 5143 which noted that no assessment of the effects of Operation Venetic on the drugs markets has been made, if she will take steps to commission a full evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of Operation Venetic to the taxpayer, including estimates of (a) total costs across all relevant UK agencies; (b) total income raised from seized assets; (c) impacts on drug availability, rates of use, drug-related harms, and the associated costs and savings; and (d) impact on market-related violence and the associated costs and benefits, with reference to the finding of the Home Office’s 2017 evaluation of the 2010 drug strategy that drugs market violence is an unintended consequence of enforcing drug laws.
tabling member constituency	Reigate
tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
uin	14129
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>Operation VENETIC is an ongoing operation yielding tangible results on a weekly basis. As law enforcement continue to act on the significant volume of intelligence received from Operation VENETIC, we are not currently evaluating its impact. We will keep this under review. The National Crime Agency has led a number of investigations under Operation VENETIC and publishes regular press notices on the outcomes of these investigations. A wider overview of Operation VENETIC can also be found in the NCA’s <a href="https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/533-national-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime-2021/file" target="_blank">2021 National Strategic Assessment.</a></p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/06/2021 16:36:36 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1328978

registered interest
date	27/05/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 5143 what the total cost is of Operation Venetic to date; and how she plans to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Operation Venetic when no assessment has been conducted of the short-term and long-term impact to drug availability or demand in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Reigate
tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
uin	8525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>Op VENETIC had a major impact on Organised Crime Groups involved in drugs trafficking, firearms trafficking, serious violence and money laundering. Many suspects that would otherwise have evaded justice due to their use of this criminally dedicated secure communication system are now facing prosecution for serious offences and face losing the financial benefits of organised crime due to proceeds of crime investigations.</p><p> </p><p>The operation has also made a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding of Serious Organised Crime in the UK, how it operates and its vulnerabilities, which is assisting law enforcement operations going forwards.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst it is not possible to define an overall cost for this complex, large scale multi agency operation, over £56 million in criminal cash has so far been seized as a result of this operation.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 07/06/2021 16:00:43 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1317003

registered interest
date	21/05/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September 2020 to Question 92900 on Drugs: Smuggling, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) short-term and (b) long-term effects of Operation VENETIC on the (i) availability, (ii) price and (iii) purity of drugs in the illegal drugs market since the date of that answer.
tabling member constituency	Reigate
tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
uin	5143
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2021 answer text <p>UK law enforcement continue to act on the significant volume of intelligence Operation VENETIC generated, with the National Crime Agency (NCA) acting as the lead organisation in the UK on this.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Office has not made an assessment of the effects of Operation VENETIC on the illegal drugs market. The NCA has led a number of investigations under Operation VENETIC and publish regular press notices on the outcomes of these investigations. The NCA’s 2021 National Strategic Assessment includes further information about the outcomes of activity following Operation VENETIC <a href="https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/533-national-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime-2021/file" target="_blank">file (nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 26/05/2021 16:17:39 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1286421

registered interest
date	11/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what quantity by weight of (a) cannabis, (b) heroin, (c) morphine, (d) cocaine (including crack), (e) benzodiazepines, (f) synthetic cannabinoids, (g) amphetamines, (h) MDMA, (i) LSD, (j) magic mushrooms and (k) anabolic steroids were seized by (i) the police, (ii) Border Force, (iii) prison services, (iv) armed forces and (v) other government agencies in (A) UK territory, (B) UK territorial waters, (C) international waters and (D) overseas territories in each year between 1971 and 2020.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	153299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office collects and publishes data on the quantity of class A, class B and class C drugs seized in England and Wales by the police, including the British Transport Police, and Border Force. This data is published annually. The quantities of drugs seized are summarised in terms of kilograms, doses (in thousands) or plants, depending on the drug type.</p><p>Official statistics on seizures of drugs in England and Wales between 2000 and 2020 are available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales</a>.</p><p>Statistics on seizures of drugs in England and Wales between 1978 and 2000 can be found on the National Archive Research Development and Statistics website: <a href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110220111009/http:/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbarchive.html" target="_blank">https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/</a></p><p>Data for earlier years is not available. Information on drugs seized by the prison services, armed forces and other government agencies, and data on seizures made outside England and Wales is not held by the Home Office.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 26/02/2021 14:25:47 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1236129

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) short-term and (b) long-term effects of Operation Venetic on the (i) availability, (ii)) price and (iii) purity of drugs in the illegal market, by drug type and (iv) levels of violence associated with the illegal drug market.
tabling member constituency	East Lothian
tabling member printed	Kenny MacAskill
uin	92900
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling global drugs supply and reducing the violence and harm associated with the illegal drugs market. Operation VENETIC targeted EncroChat, a global encrypted communications service that was used exclusively by serious and organised criminals to coordinate their illicit activities, including drugs trafficking.</p><p> </p><p>There were 60,000 global users of EncroChat and 10,000 users in the UK, resulting in a significant volume of intelligence that UK law enforcement continue to act on. As a result, the impact on the (i) availability, (ii)) price and (iii) purity of drugs in the illegal market, by drug type and (iv) levels of violence associated with the illegal drug market has not been assessed.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 29/09/2020 14:57:22 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4772 label Biography information for Kenny MacAskill

1187544

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Drugs: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on what the main source countries were of illegal (a) opiates, (b) cannabis and (c) cocaine smuggled into the UK in 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	Southampton, Itchen
tabling member printed	Royston Smith
uin	34378
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>Information relating to the number of illicit drug users, the economic and social costs of illicit drugs and source countries for drug production is provided in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-drugs-phase-one-report" target="_blank">Dame Carol Black Independent Review of Drugs evidence pack</a> on pages 17, 30, 33 and 41, published on 27 February 2020.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 34374 34376 question first answered 28/04/2020 15:08:39 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4478 label Biography information for Royston Smith